{"id":2518,"date":"2026-04-24T22:17:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T02:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/?page_id=2518"},"modified":"2026-04-24T22:17:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T02:17:59","slug":"free-guides","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/forwriters\/free-guides\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Guides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Explore these guides with writing and publishing tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Research-Hacks-Cheat-Sheet-4.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:230px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Research Hacks Cheat Sheet.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-331744c9-6e7f-4b89-a9fe-db153fe114c1\" href=\"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Research-Hacks-Cheat-Sheet-4.pdf\">Research Hacks Cheat Sheet<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Research-Hacks-Cheat-Sheet-4.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-331744c9-6e7f-4b89-a9fe-db153fe114c1\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Work-For-Hire-Cheat-Sheet-1.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:440px\" aria-label=\"Embed of Work-For-Hire Cheat Sheet.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-82a5f4ce-d22b-48ea-9727-a38924f35b65\" href=\"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Work-For-Hire-Cheat-Sheet-1.pdf\">Work-For-Hire Cheat Sheet<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Work-For-Hire-Cheat-Sheet-1.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-82a5f4ce-d22b-48ea-9727-a38924f35b65\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explore these guides with writing and publishing tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2447,"parent":2358,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2518","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2495,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/for-teachers\/activity-guides\/","url_meta":{"origin":2518,"position":0},"title":"Activity Guides","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"April 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Activity Guides Do you want to take a deep dive into my books? These free activity guides include writing, art, research activities...and more! A Puerto Rican Childhood Gnomes & Ungnomes: Poems of Hidden Creatures More coming soon!","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Website banner with the name Melissa H. Mwai. The subtitle reads Children's Author, Artist, Educator. Illustrations with stylized rainbow arches ending with pen nibs.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Author-Website-Banner-2026-2.png?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2229,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/for-teachers\/school-visits\/","url_meta":{"origin":2518,"position":1},"title":"School Visits","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"November 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Passionate about student learning Sharing a love of reading, writing, and creating art with school-aged kids! For World Read Aloud Day (#WRAD) virtual visits fill out this form to schedule a free ~15min visit with me! In-Person Class Visits** 45-min in-person class visit is $225. Includes: a read-aloud, writing activity,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Website banner with the name Melissa H. Mwai. The subtitle reads Children's Author, Artist, Educator. 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Rising Stars Interview Nov 16, 2020 Short Bio Melissa H. Mwai is a children's author and illustrator. She's written five nonfiction books including I Can Make a Friend (Paw Prints, '25), A Puerto Rican Childhood (DK, '24), and Stacey Abrams (Nat Geo Kids, '22).\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/img_7481-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/img_7481-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/img_7481-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/img_7481-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1761,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/for-teachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":2518,"position":3},"title":"For Teachers","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"February 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Explore these pages for teachers!","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/melissamwai.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/School-Visits-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2358,"url":"https:\/\/melissamwai.com\/index.php\/forwriters\/","url_meta":{"origin":2518,"position":4},"title":"For Writers","author":"Melissa Mwai","date":"May 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Explore these pages for writers.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Website banner with the name Melissa H. 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